


Shaky Hands

by shnuffeluv



Series: Whumptober 2019 [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Coffee, Early Mornings, Gen, Nightmares, Not Really Character Death, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-11-10 18:00:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20855921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shnuffeluv/pseuds/shnuffeluv
Summary: For Whumptober Day 1: Shaky hands. This is not my usual, fluffy fare. Consider yourselves warned.





	Shaky Hands

"Deceit." The voice came from behind him. He stared intently at the coffee machine in front of him and hummed his acknowledgement, hoping that his visitor would leave soon.

"Your hands are shaking," the visitor said. "Are you all right?"

"Fine," Deceit dismissed.

"I know when you lie, Deceit. You never were good enough to fool me."

"Patton," Deceit sighed. "I'm fine."

"You don't _look_ fine," Patton protested.

"Yet here we are," Deceit said. "Perfectly safe, in no mortal danger, _fine_ without any issue."

Patton came over and stood next to Deceit as he watched the coffee machine. "What has you up at six in the morning? You're never up at six in the morning."

"I wasn't able to sleep," Deceit said. "It occasionally happens. I'm not an insomniac, or manic, or anything. I just...couldn't sleep."

"Any particular reason?" Patton pressed.

Deceit didn't say anything for a long while, not until the coffee was done and he was stirring sugar into a mug full of the stuff. "Nightmares," he eventually said. "And I don't particularly care for them."

"What are they about? I might be able to help," Patton said.

"You wouldn't be able to help," Deceit said quietly.

"But I could try," Patton insisted.

Deceit sighed. Took a sip of coffee. Considered his options. "I keep dreaming about Virgil. Getting hurt, usually. Dying, sometimes. Occasionally by Remus' hands. More often by my own actions, or inactions. Something always happens, and he always ends up hurt."

"I get nightmares like that too, sometimes," Patton said softly. "It's never fun."

"Usually I get them for about a week, and then after that they go away, no matter how much or how little sleep I got during that week. So I've taken to avoiding sleeping for the week after the nightmares start," Deceit said casually, taking another long sip of coffee. "Hence the coffee, to ensure I stay awake."

"Deceit, that's not healthy," Patton said.

"I'm well aware," Deceit said. "That's not going to stop me."

"I'll stop you," Patton said. "If you don't stop I'll make you stop."

Deceit's grip on his mug tightened. "I have four more nights of unrelenting nightmares," he growled. "You're not going to make me suffer through those alone."

"No, you won't be alone," Patton said, taking the coffee out of Deceit's hands and putting it on the counter. "You'll be sleeping in my room, in my bed, where I'll be there to reassure you that Virgil is fine whenever you wake up. Starting now."

"Patton, that's not necessary," Deceit protested as Patton dragged Deceit to his room.

"Maybe not, but it will help," Patton said. "I've found that everyone sleeps sounder in my room when they have nightmares."

Deceit found himself unceremoniously shoved onto the bed and Patton forced him under the blankets. "Sleep," Patton instructed.

"If I don't?" Deceit challenged.

"Then you'll be forced to listen to me chatter at you until the others start waking up," Patton warned. "Sleep."

Deceit sighed, and let his eyes close. He ignored the sense of dread building in his stomach, the way his hands shook when he thought about what might happen in his dreams. He forced himself to breathe evenly, and soon enough, he was asleep.

**Author's Note:**

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